


between the bushes

by glissandos



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Short & Sweet, gahyeon is a small child, merchant/thief siyeon, princess sua
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glissandos/pseuds/glissandos
Summary: Siyeon is not supposed to be here. These are the royal gardens, and any moment now, she’ll be caught and sent out by the guards.But—oh no—it’s too late already, because she hears the telltale patter of footsteps on the stone path, someone approaching her from behind. She whirls around, heartbeat thundering (quick, she has to think of a believable lie!) but who she comes face to face with is not a palace guard dressed in a stiff grey uniform.Oh no,Siyeon thinks again. Because the person curiously staring her down is the princess.
Relationships: Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 16
Kudos: 169
Collections: #GGFLASHFIC





	between the bushes

This is something she had been warned from doing countless times—so many times it’s now a mantra ingrained into her head. _Do not enter the palace._

Technically, Siyeon thinks, she didn’t _enter_ the palace. So, yes, she’s currently trespassing in the palace grounds, but she didn’t go inside. (Not that anyone’s allowed inside. But Siyeon probably could have found a way in if she wanted to.)

And Siyeon continues telling herself that she’s not going to do anything illegal—not when she has no desire to possess meticulously designed gowns or the most extravagantly carved jewelry, especially not when the result is likely imminent death. Although—just being caught out here might mean a quick death as well. 

In fact, as pretty as the palace garden is, with its flower-teeming bushes and branches spilling from trees full of thick canopy, Siyeon doesn’t want to be here. She knows she shouldn’t be here, and she’s scared of being caught. 

But she has to find Gahyeon. 

One of the merchants that Siyeon befriended is out of town to get more resources for her shop, and since it’s a long journey she’d trusted Siyeon to keep shop and watch over her daughter, Gahyeon, in the process. 

The problem is that Gahyeon is way too sneaky and clever for a five-year old… or perhaps that’s just how all five-year-olds are. Either way, one moment Siyeon had been holding Gahyeon’s hand as they ambled around the market, and the next moment the tug on her hand had disappeared and she’d looked around, panicked, only to see the younger girl squeezing between two immaculately-trimmed rectangular bushes and disappearing into the palace garden.

Seriously, though, Siyeon thinks, if they really wanted to keep people out, they shouldn’t have used shrubbery for their garden walls. Perhaps they’ve grown their bushes tall and thick, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any gaps between them.

So she does a quick scan of her surroundings—no guards in sight (again, if they wanted to keep people out better why didn’t they also have more guards stationed?). And moments later, Siyeon finds herself doing an awkward shimmy between the bushes, carefully making sure her tunic doesn’t catch on the brambles. 

And then she’s in. 

The first thought Siyeon has is that it’s beautiful. Flowers of every color imaginable grow on the trees and shrubs, and everywhere she looks, the grass, including the patch that she’s currently stepping on, is manicured and vibrant green. 

Siyeon carefully steps onto the stone path and she looks around. Her heart rate starts rising again because Gahyeon is nowhere to be seen. The gardens are expansive but also a fairly open space, and Siyeon cannot spot Gahyeon. Actually, she doesn’t spot a single soul in sight. 

_Fuck,_ she thinks. Where would Gahyeon go? She’s probably hiding somewhere, thinks this is funny, like a game of hide-and-seek. Siyeon loves hide-and-seek, even, just not _here._ Anywhere but here. 

Siyeon is not supposed to be here. These are the royal gardens, and any moment now, either she or Gahyeon will be caught and sent out (or worse) by the guards. 

But— _oh no_ —it’s too late already, because she hears the telltale patter of footsteps on the stone path, someone approaching her from behind. She whirls around, heartbeat thundering (quick, she has to think of a believable lie!) but who she comes face to face with is not a palace guard dressed in a stiff grey uniform. 

_Oh no,_ Siyeon thinks again. Because the person curiously staring her down is the _princess._

How did Siyeon not see the princess when she was looking around? 

Doesn’t matter now. 

_Shit._ Siyeon finds herself frozen. She should be running, right? Running away and scanning the area for Gahyeon in the process. Except her feet aren’t moving. 

Also, the princess is beautiful. 

And… okay, Siyeon knows that. 

She’s seen all sorts of paintings of royalty hanging in merchant stalls. 

But still. This is real. _Oh, fuck, this is real. Run!_ Her brain screams at her. She does not.

Princess Bora has an angular face and strong jawline, and the sort of eyes that are sharp and piercing, boring into Siyeon. Her black hair tumbles over her shoulders, over the sleeves of her layered blue dress. She isn’t wearing a crown, but it would take a fool to not recognize her. 

Siyeon stares back for a moment longer before her brain thinks _She’s definitely going to remember your face now,_ and she finally bolts. 

Down the stone path, with no clear direction except for _away from the princess._ The sack of peaches (three peaches to be exact, and all _stolen,_ Siyeon thinks, even more scared—but the princess would have no way of knowing that, right?) thumps against her waist, and she’s glad that she secured the strap tightly around her neck and shoulder.

“Hey! Wait!” Siyeon hears a voice that is somehow loud and soft at the same time. Commandeering. 

She almost stops, but doesn’t. What if the princess wants her to stop so she can call the guards? Siyeon’s lucky that it was _only_ the princess who found her, and that she wasn’t accompanied by her usual entourage of grey-cloaked soldiers.

“Please!” the voice calls out after her, louder this time, and Siyeon realizes the princess is running after her. And that the princess runs surprisingly faster than she had thought. 

“Are you looking for a child?” Princess Bora continues, and against all instincts Siyeon finally stops to turn back around. Because she really _really_ needs to find Gahyeon. 

The princess easily catches up to her, barely out of breath. Siyeon notices that she’s wearing flats and not heels, which probably helps.

“Your Royal Highness—I’m sorry for trespassing,” Siyeon says quickly, and curtsies, bending especially low for good measure. “I won’t ever do it again, so please don’t report me to the guards.” Siyeon’s heartbeat pounds in her chest with the strength of a hundred bass drums. This is the moment of truth. 

The princess waves her up from her curtsy and there is a long moment where Siyeon meets Bora’s eyes. Siyeon is practically holding her breath at this point, waiting for a response, and by the way the corner of the princess’ lips curl up, she might be realizing this too. The princess’ eyes are glimmering knowinglingly and her eyebrows are raised, and Siyeon’s heart is in her throat and she needs the princess to say _something._

“Don’t worry,” Kim Bora finally opens her mouth, eyebrows softening. “I won’t.”

Siyeon thinks it’s supposed to be reassuring, and it is… kind of? Siyeon doesn’t feel like she’s going to be skewered on the spot, at least, and she tries to calm her heart back down. Still, she feels incredibly out of place, in her simple beige tunic and thin pants (and sack of three stolen peaches).

Then the princess gets a sly look on her face, lips transforming into a crooked grin. “I believe I saw a girl duck behind the tree over there,” she says, pointing to the largest tree at the very center of the garden. 

As if on cue, Siyeon turns to the right and sees Gahyeon poking her head out from behind the trunk. When Gahyeon realizes she’s been spotted, she lets out a loud giggle, the laugh tinkling through the garden. She waves excitedly at them, and Siyeon wonders how she even stayed hidden this long.

“She’s cute,” Bora casually comments, taking in the sight. Her eyes light up adorably as she watches Gahyeon traipse out of her hiding spot and Siyeon almost has the urge to say that the _princess_ is the cute one. 

Siyeon glances away, embarrassed. She tries to collect her thoughts. 

“Um, thank you so much, Your Highness,” she finally says and curtsies again, before taking long strides toward the sprawling tree. 

The princess matches her stride, and Siyeon finds them walking down the path together. Siyeon had hoped that the other would have left her alone after that, but she supposes the princess needs to make sure that Siyeon actually leaves the garden after finding Gahyeon.

“So what’s your name?” the princess asks.

Siyeon is surprised at the question. Why would a princess care about her name? Meanwhile, Gahyeon has taken to sitting on one of the large protruding roots of large oak tree, poking a finger into the rich soil beneath her. 

“Siyeon,” Siyeon accidentally says and then berates herself for not using a false identity. The list of stupid things she’s done today is increasing.

“Is that your sister, Siyeon?” the princess asks her and Siyeon shakes her head. She shuts up before she reveals too much.

“Ah,” the princess murmurs, but doesn’t ask her to elaborate. They finally reach the center of the garden, and Gahyeon looks up from her dirt finger painting to stick her tongue out, laughing at Siyeon, who emits an exasperated but fond sigh.

She scoops Gahyeon up into her arms this time—so no danger of the girl running away—and Gahyeon only giggles some more, grabbing a fistful of Siyeon’s ponytail and twisting it. Painfully. 

Siyeon winces, and then she hears loud, screechy laughter tumbling out of the princess. 

Siyeon can’t help but stare. It’s actually refreshing, to see that the princess isn’t all elegance and refined manners. 

Bora’s laughter finally dies down and she levels Siyeon’s stare. “What?” she asks. 

Siyeon flushes. “Again, thank you,” she says. “And sorry for bothering you! We’ll be leaving now.”

“Oh, this wasn’t a bother at all,” Princess Bora says, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Actually, you two should stop by again and we can have a proper chat or a picnic sometime.”

Siyeon gapes. “Uh... uh... I’m only looking after Gahyeon,” she stutters, “but maybe I could bring her again if her mother lets her.”

The princess laughs again, softer this time. She crosses her arms and her gaze sweeps over Siyeon from head to toe. “Even if it’s just you, that’s just as good,” she says. 

Siyeon can only stand there. There’s a voice in her head that’s going _holy shit, the princess might be flirting with you!_ Another voice says _shoot, did she see the peaches? Does she know they’re stolen?_

Siyeon refocuses and returns Princess Bora’s smile with her own tentative one. 

But… this isn’t allowed, right? “I’m sorry,” Siyeon ducks her head. “I shouldn’t be in the palace gardens.” 

She hears footsteps and sees two guards approaching them and Siyeon wants to curl in on herself. Great timing, she thinks. 

“Your Highness,” the guards greet Bora in clipped voices, eyes warily drifting between her and the two people that evidently do not belong. 

But the princess is still smiling. “If you see these two girls again…” she begins.

Siyeon feels her heart plummeting at the words. _No, no,_ she thinks. 

“... Invite them into the garden and have someone retrieve me from my rooms,” Princess Bora continues. “And have the kitchen prepare a nice picnic basket.”

Siyeon listens, shocked. 

The guards just nod. And then they are stepping past them, moving further along the path. 

Once they disappear, Princess Bora grins at Siyeon and coos at Gahyeon, and Siyeon almost tells her to stop because Gahyeon is _annoying,_ not cute, and would probably pull the princess’ hair too if given the chance. 

“Maybe you’ve had enough excitement for today,” Bora addresses them. “I’ll walk you out.”

And then she sticks out a hand and raises her eyebrows at Siyeon. 

Siyeon blinks, confused. And then, hesitantly, takes the hand. It is warm and soft and when the princess slots her fingers between her own it feels right, somehow. 

So maybe Siyeon shouldn’t have entered the palace grounds in the first place. And she most likely should not be holding the princess’ hand. But she doesn’t want to let go. 

The princess squeezes her hand before gently pulling away once they reach the gates. (Obviously, they are not going back out through the bushes.) She reaches over and ruffles Gahyeon’s hair, beaming. Gahyeon’s mouth splits into a wide smile and Siyeon can’t stop herself from grinning, too. 

“I hope to see you again,” the princess tells them.

The truth is, Siyeon is still too scared to come back. Even if Princess Bora is really nice and insanely pretty and she is smiling shyly (at _Siyeon!_ ). 

So Siyeon says nothing. It’s safer, more ambiguous that way.

And she doesn’t look back as the gate closes behind her and Gahyeon.

\---

… But maybe…

\---

Siyeon breaks the rules again. The rigid, spoken rules that she wasn’t even supposed to break _once._

And so here she is, standing at the gate of the palace garden. And no Gahyeon today… because… because maybe Siyeon wanted to see what would happen if she went by herself.

The guards at the gate are different today.

“I’m Lee Siyeon,” she says. She’s dressed herself nicer this time, in a lavender blouse and loose white pants that she somehow hasn’t gotten dirty. “If you’d be willing to, could you let the princess know I’m here?” The worst that could happen is that they say no, right? And then Siyeon would politely leave. 

But even if the guards look surprised the one on the left pulls out a small receiver and speaks into it, and five minutes later, Siyeon sees the princess coming running towards the gate. She has a picnic basket in her hands and a smile that sends Siyeon’s heart tumbling and causes sunflowers to unfurl their wide petals as they blossom in her chest. 

“I’m glad you came,” Bora tells her, and she immediately picks up Siyeon’s hand—like it’s natural—and begins skipping down the path, tugging Siyeon with her. 

They settle under a patch of maple trees and the princess pulls out fruit after fruit. Slices of cut watermelon, peaches, pears, apples. And berries packed into containers too. _And_ sandwiches. Siyeons mouth waters at the sight. 

\---

So Siyeon keeps returning. Sometimes with Gahyeon, just to see the way Princess Bora’s face cutely scrunches up as she mimics the girl’s expressions. 

And sometimes, without. Maybe those count as dates.

And maybe one time a few weeks later the princess kisses Siyeon on the lips under a willow tree in the corner of the garden. Bora tastes like watermelon and Siyeon savours it even if she maybe isn’t supposed to. 

Afterward, Princess Bora’s cheeks turn a shade of pink pretty enough to rival any of the flowers in the garden. Siyeon tells her that, and her cheeks bloom even more. 

As she’s leaving, Siyeon slips two apples into her satchel—she is no longer embarassed by it—and gives them to Gahyeon when she gets back. 

“Remember, don’t go slipping into places you shouldn’t be,” Siyeon reprimands the girl before placing the apples into Gahyeon’s grabby hands. 

Unspoken, however, are the words that the apples might really be a secret reward.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hello :^)) this was my first dreamcatcher fic, so thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Also, this was written for #ggflashfic! If you have time go check out the other works in the collection too, gg fic deserve the love :D


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